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I may be mistaken as I am not the most knowledgeable guy here, but it may very well be reflecting an improvement in fitness altogether. I am way the heck out of shape now and trying to get back in better fitness using power, a trainer, structured work outs with intervals, etc. First thing I noticed compared to 2 years ago is how high my HR is compared to when I was in much better shape. My resting HR has considerably improved, but my HR at low effort and threshhold is about 15+ more than what it used to be.

Of course, I'd like to assume that the HR drop is a result of building strength but given that I've done no structured training in the last 12 months, this seems unlikely. I suppose the easiest (but most expensive) way to answer this question is to get a new power meter....... I've been measuring my RHR and HRV and have been pleasantly surprised by the results of these, but unfortunately I didn't collect this data 1 year ago so I have nothing to compare it to

I wish my HR was 25 beats lower when riding at threshold! Have you accurately tested your threshold lately?

I haven't tested yet but I've made an educated guess based on RPE. The point is that my HR may be 25bpm lower, but im still totally flat out at that lower bpm and can't seem to push it any higher. If my power numbers show that I'm making the same power as usual but with lower HR then I would be over the moon but I don't think that's the case. And if it is I will have no idea how it happened since I haven't been doing much training.......unless all the growth hormone and EPO I've been using is actually working

my resting HR and HRV are good. I don't have data from these 2 things to compare to 2 months ago but there's no sign of over training. And I think being out of shape would manifest in higher HR for a given effort rather than lower.

You are probably already aware of what I am going to tell you but I will say it anyway, when I get into my season with harder efforts more frequently I notice my max HR is about 10-15 beats lower than what it would be when I am fresh. The more days I do back to back lowers my HR a few more beats which I normally take into account when doing intervals or extended climbs. I always use the power meter for the most part but when I do my base its usually by HR. I know many factors affect HR- outside temperatures, fatigue, stress and illness. Nowadays when I see big HR values I am typically surprised.
I was also just looking at HRV which is new to me but might be something I look at closer. Cardiac Drift is also something that I measure with HR and PM for comparison to see if my base is at a point that I can move into the next phase of training.
Personally I would rather train by PM and go by feel for my next hard training efforts.

You are probably already aware of what I am going to tell you but I will say it anyway, when I get into my season with harder efforts more frequently I notice my max HR is about 10-15 beats lower than what it would be when I am fresh. The more days I do back to back lowers my HR a few more beats which I normally take into account when doing intervals or extended climbs. I always use the power meter for the most part but when I do my base its usually by HR. I know many factors affect HR- outside temperatures, fatigue, stress and illness. Nowadays when I see big HR values I am typically surprised.
I was also just looking at HRV which is new to me but might be something I look at closer. Cardiac Drift is also something that I measure with HR and PM for comparison to see if my base is at a point that I can move into the next phase of training.
Personally I would rather train by PM and go by feel for my next hard training efforts.

That's interesting actually. I would've thought that, assuming there wasn't any issues such as illness, that a lack of form would just result in lower power for the same HR, and not lower overall HR.